Solar and wind power are set to become key contributors to Italy's power generation capabilities. The country is one of the key success stories for the renewable energy market: currently, more than 20% of its electricity emanates from renewable energy sources, and this is set to increase to 30% by 2030.

Published By Datamonitor

Eni is the largest retailer of natural gas to Italy (accounting for about 50% of the market). However, regulatory restrictions have been applied to Eni in order to improve competition and encourage new entrants into the Italian gas market. Eni has now turned to the electricity market for revenue and margin growth opportunities, specifically by moving existing gas customers onto dual fuel tariffs.

Published By Datamonitor

BNP Paribas has shown that it understands the need to combine the benefits of a digital-only offering with the reassurance customers gain from a branch network. Banks will need to take this digital-first rather than digital-only approach until customers are ready to let go of the branch.

Published By Datamonitor

UniCredit is rolling out a biometric payment authentication system called Papillon, which operates by scanning the pattern of veins in the hand. This is one of the more secure biometric propositions. Yet while Papillon may help to assuage consumer concerns about fraud, UniCredit will have to be careful in its implementation as the registration process may prove cumbersome.

Published By Datamonitor

Swiss private banks have been hit hard by the post-financial crisis regulatory environment, which is trying to curb tax avoidance and evasion through the use of offshore centers. The uncertain political situation emerging from the recent Italian elections will almost certainly boost Italian HNW inflows into Swiss banks, providing some temporary relief.

Published By Datamonitor

Dacia plans to invest in online vehicle sales in the coming year, aiming to make them available to all European markets by the end of 2014, whereas presently the service is only available in the Netherlands, Italy, and the UK. Online new car sales by manufacturers have risen in popularity; they currently account for just a handful of new vehicle sales, but strong growth is expected.

Published By Datamonitor

Small fuel distributors in Italy should look at non-fuel options to raise their profits, mirroring the success of this strategy in other markets and mitigating against the negative impact on profits from the high cost of absorbing fuel discounts.

Published By Datamonitor

Julius Baer has announced the acquisition of a minority stake in Kairos Investments, a Milan-based wealth management firm with E4.5bn of funds under management. The move comes as no surprise given Julius Baer's recent M&A activity, its strong financial position, and the outflows of Italian funds from Switzerland back into Italy.